I have an old Eye Brand knife with pewter handles (some sorta metal that's a dull grey) that belonged to my dad. He picked it up cheap in Hong Kong at some market. The blades are hellishly rusty. The blade is chipped, but the handle is gorgeous. How do I remove the rust? It takes one helluva edge too
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Old Eye Brand: removing rust?
- Thread starter GarageBoy
- Start date
Oil the knife up with mineral oil, then let it sit for awhile. Use a straight pin to knock off small spots. For big rust patches, take them off with the finest grade steel wool you can find. The blade will still be dark, but this should help get rid of any nasty active rust.
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2002
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You might try soaking the blade in kerosene. This suggestion came to me from Bernard Levine, once upon a time. I haven't had the need to try it, but he said a Knife World expert suggested this to him. Afterwards, I'd use some Flitz, or another high grade polish, before I went to any real abrasive (eg. naval jelly or sanding). JMHO.
Oh, this ASSUMES you're not talking about keeping it as a "valuable collector's item." All bets would be off on "CLEANING" the knife, in that case.
Bill
Bob's method using mineral oil shouldn't hurt anything, so you could at least try that if you want.
Oh, this ASSUMES you're not talking about keeping it as a "valuable collector's item." All bets would be off on "CLEANING" the knife, in that case.
Bill
Bob's method using mineral oil shouldn't hurt anything, so you could at least try that if you want.
Ok, tried to remove the rust from the blade with WD40 and mineral oil. Got most of it off. Still a little staining on the blade and heavy rust on the pivot/tang. Looks... beaten. The Hong Kong humidity really did a lot to it. The blade was duller than a butter knife, but a few strokes on a coarse diamond put the edge back. (chips I can't get rid of) Will take pics tomo
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I don't think the kerosene would hurt at this point, however.........you didn't say it was a folder in your first post, so you might try some Break Free CLP, if you have it . Or let the mineral oil go into the pivot, and leave it overnight to try to "float" the rust out.
Good luck.
Bill
Good luck.
Bill
Try a pencil eraser on the rusty areas by the tang, if that doesn't work, do the flitz thing combined with using the straight pin to remove any really heavy specks. Other than that the only way is with real abrasives like steel wool or high grit sandpaper.
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After looking at your picture, I believe I would call that patina versus really rusty. The reddish areas should clean up a LITTLE, but the blues/grays/blacks are just oxidization, I would say. Even if you had the knife professionally "Cleaned" (Heaven forbid! ) the patina would probably return as you used it.
It is a neat little knife. I say enjoy it for what it is. JMHO.
Bill
) the patina would probably return as you used it.It is a neat little knife. I say enjoy it for what it is. JMHO.
Bill
There are a lotta chips in the blade, but I'll keep it for what it is. I love the feel of this thing in my hand. Technically, it's my dad's knife, but in actuality it's MINE. (he forgot about it) The redish areas around the tang cleaned up ok with WD40 and mineral oil.
